Most threatening, however, was the ascendancy of Assyria, which was beginning to expand westward from Mesopotamia: the Battle of Qarqar (853 BC), which pitted Shalmaneser III of Assyria against a coalition of local kings, including Ahab, was the first clash between Assyria and Israel.
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Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as well as other extra-biblical sources such as the Mesha stele and the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, Omri is also credited with the construction of Samaria and establishing it as his capital.
Levien also represented Omri Casspi and Yotam Halperin, two of the first Israeli players drafted into the NBA, the Utah Jazz's Ukrainian-born center, Kyrylo Fesenko, the New Jersey Nets' Courtney Lee, Orlando Magic's Hedo Türkoğlu and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' rusher Earnest Graham, among others.